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Paper Reduction
A big way you can save money and help the planet out a little is by reducing the amount of
paper you use. The paperless office isn’t an absolute. There are some who will be able to
embrace the philosophy and completely show paper the door, whereas others may only be
able to handle one change, such as turning their fax services into a paperless endeavor.
Regardless of what you are able to do, here are some of the tools that can help you reduce
the paper you use.

SharePoint Server
Once you go paperless, you need a mechanism in place to ensure that you can find what
you want when you want it. It’s best to have a system that will help you logically organize
your information.
Microsoft SharePoint Server, which we talked about in Chapter 6, is one such option.
SharePoint is a web-based collaboration and document management platform. It can also be
used to host websites that can then be shared across workspaces and documents. SharePoint
sites are ASP.NET applications that are served using IIS and a SQL Server database for data
storage.

Workflow Management
If you are totally embracing a paperless environment, but have filing cabinets full of old
documents, you should let your departments know that the documentation needs to be
scanned and saved on your SAN.
Supply your departments with scanners and give them a deadline. You must be realistic
about becoming totally paper-free. This will depend on how much hardcopy you have on
hand and how much of your staff’s time you wish to dedicate to the project. A good idea is
to have weekly goals in place. This allows the project to get done, but you’re not totally
overwhelming your company and you’re not grinding the gears of your business to a halt.
Also, be aware of what type of paper you’re scanning. If you have blueprints or oddly
sized paperwork, you may need to buy scanners that can physically accommodate that
paperwork.
An easy place to start the changeover is to simply stop producing paper. When you
generate a document, just save it to the network as a Word or PDF file. If someone else in
your organization needs a copy of the document, just e-mail it to them.

Green Supply Chain
The greening of your organization doesn’t just stop at your front door. Think about the loading PART V
dock as well. The companies you are in business with and the companies you buy parts and
services from should also toe the line when it comes to being ecologically responsible. True,
you might not want to be too draconian about it, but think about companies such as Dell. As
we mentioned in Chapter 9, Dell has a whole rating system in place for its vendors. If a vendor
doesn’t meet Dell’s minimum standards, the company finds someone else.
We don’t mean to tell you with whom you should do business, but you should evaluate
to what degree greening is important and then decide whether your vendors are acting in a
manner with which you are comfortable.